Bigger is not always better
MELANIE WARNER
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Rattana Sajathep hugs her children after being named 'Outstanding Mother' by Satri Withaya 2 School in 2003.— PHRAKRIT JUNTAWONG |
Burger King's new BK Stackers pack as much as 1,000 calories, 1,800 milligrammes of sodium and a day and a half's worth of saturated fat. A lot of Americans say they want to eat healthier these days, but increasingly, restaurant chains are not buying it.
The restaurants, hoping to appeal to consumers looking for what the industry calls "indulgent" offerings, are promoting the consumption of copious amounts of food. And nutritionists are calling these offerings anything but healthy.
Ads for Burger King's new BK Stackers, for instance, tell customers they can super-size their hamburger to include as many as four slabs of beef, four slices of cheese and four strips of bacon. In one ad, a factory foreman in the BK Stacker factory yells "more meat!" at workers who try to produce a single-patty burger. The BK Stackers are for people who are proud they are not eating healthy items.
"It's the flame-broiled meat lovers' burger, and it's here to stay - no veggies allowed," reads one of the product's tag lines.
Denny's, too, has recently super-sized one of its most popular menu items. An ad campaign for its Extreme Grand Slam Breakfast, which consists of three strips of bacon, three sausage links, two eggs, hash browns and three pancakes, tells customers they should not have to choose between bacon and sausage.
In one commercial, a man proudly announces: "I'm going to eat too much, but I'm never going to pay too much."
The Extreme Grand Slam Breakfast, which has 1,270 calories, 77 grammes of fat and 2,510 miligrammes of sodium, costs $5.99 (227 baht).
Nutrition advocates say these messages are irresponsible in an age of rising obesity rates and a surge in diet-related diseases like diabetes. Margo G Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition group often critical of the food industry, says restaurants should provide calorie information on the menu or menu board so customers can see what they are getting.
"People know that a quadruple burger or extreme breakfast is not the healthiest choice, but I don't think they expect to eat a whole day's worth of calories in one sitting," said Wootan. "Restaurants are giving customers these choices without telling them anything about what the impact on their diet will be."
Out of the nation's top 300 chain restaurants, only half give customers nutrition information, Wootan said. And of those, she said, most offer the information only on their websites. None provide it on the menu where customers can see it before they order.
Restaurants say offering lumberjack portions of fat and sodium-laden food is giving customers what they want and providing them with choices. "Some of our most successful products over the past few years have been indulgent products, whether it be the Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich, the Angus Steak Burger, the Chicken Fries product or the Stackers," said Russ Klein, chief marketing officer at Burger King.
Klein says he agrees obesity is a societal problem, but Burger King's menu offers a full spectrum of choices. "We have everything from salads to veggie burgers to grilled chicken," he said. "On their hamburgers, people can say 'hold the mayo' or they can go bun-less. Somebody who wants to be in control of their diet can do it at Burger King."
About half of all restaurant customers care about making healthy food choices and limiting their calories, said Chris Malone, senior vice president of marketing at Aramark, a large food service company that conducts an annual survey of out-of-home eating habits. Those who do tend to be older and female, he said.
The other half does not care, he added, and it is those people who go to restaurants most often. "The most health-focused consumers eat out the least, because they assume there's nothing there for them," said Malone. NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
copious
large quantities
nutritionists
people who are experts on food and what food contains
slabs
thick pieces
sodium
commonly called salt, is used to season food, and can cause problems if consumed in large amounts
saturated fat
fat from animal products
tag lines
slogans
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consist
made of
hash browns
fried potato dish
announce
tell something publicly
nutrition advocates
people who support and speak in favour of eating healthier food
obesity
extreme fatness
surge
increase strongly and suddenly
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quadruple
to multiply something by four
nutrition information
information about everything the food contains
lumberjack portions
very big servings of food
a full spectrum
a wide range of things
assume
to accept that something is true without checking or confirming it
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